The Kiss That Shook New England
The clip, captured by a kiss cam operator, showed Kristin and Byron swaying together while the British band performed. But when their image hit the jumbotron, panic ensued. Kristin buried her face in her hands, while Byron dropped to his knees in embarrassment — a moment that instantly rocketed across social media platforms.
It didn’t take long for the public to connect the dots: Kristin is still married to Andrew Cabot, CEO of Privateer Rum and heir to a family fortune estimated at $15.4 billion.
And Byron? He’s married too — or at least was, until his wife scrubbed his surname from her social media accounts in the wake of the scandal.
A Dynasty Drenched in History… and Now Tabloid Ink
The Cabot family has been a pillar of New England aristocracy for over two centuries. Their wealth dates back to soot, rum, and old-world merchant trades, with historical ties to Harvard, MIT, and even the American Revolution.
The original Andrew Cabot, who died in 1791, was a revolutionary-era merchant and distiller. His descendants helped build America’s first mutual fund, financed universities, and once battled the Kennedys for political supremacy. (Spoiler: JFK won.)
Now, their pristine image is cracked — thanks to a hug at a rock concert.
Even John Collins Bossidy’s iconic 1910 poem, once revering Boston’s social hierarchy, feels ironically prescient today:
“Where the Lowells talk to the Cabots, and the Cabots talk only to God.”
Turns out, God wasn’t watching the jumbotron.
Private Lives, Public Scandals
Kristin and Andrew are listed as married in recent property filings and jointly purchased a $2.2 million New Englander-style home in Rye, New Hampshire, this February. Just weeks before that, they sold another nearby property for $1.05 million.
Kristin, who once proudly listed herself as an advisory board member at Privateer Rum, deleted her LinkedIn account shortly after the video went viral. She had previously been married to Ken Thornby, finalizing their divorce in 2020. Andrew Cabot has also had a few walks down the aisle — he divorced his first wife Maud in 2013 and his second wife Julie in 2018.
Photos from 2023 showed Kristin happily posing with Andrew’s adult children at a family birthday event — ring on finger, smiles all around. But that ring was noticeably absent during her Coldplay cuddle-fest.
Fallout in the Tech World
Andy Byron, former CEO of AI firm Astronomer, has since been placed on leave. The company confirmed the decision in a Friday night statement and named co-founder Pete DeJoy as interim CEO while an internal investigation is underway.
The scandal threatens to unravel more than just reputations — it could bring scrutiny to the Cabot brand, which still trades heavily on its family name. From historical endowments to modern-day rum distilling, the Cabot influence spans industries and centuries.
But no lineage, no matter how gilded, is immune to the unforgiving virality of the internet. One kiss cam, one embrace, and a legacy once defined by silent power is now echoing through digital tabloid headlines.
The Cabots may once have spoken only to God, but today, the whole world is talking back.