Andrew Cabot Breaks Silence on Divorce from Kristin Cabot Following Viral Kiss Cam Incident
Andrew Cabot, CEO of Privateer Rum and the estranged husband of Astronomer HR executive Kristin Cabot, has finally addressed their divorce in the aftermath of a viral incident involving his wife and her former boss, Andy Byron. Through a spokeswoman, the 61-year-old Massachusetts entrepreneur revealed that he and Kristin “were privately and amicably separated several weeks before the Coldplay concert” where the controversial kiss cam moment occurred. The statement emphasized that their decision to divorce was already in progress prior to that evening, and now that the divorce filing is public, Andrew hopes it will put an end to speculation and allow his family the privacy they have always valued. The spokeswoman concluded by stating that no further public comments would be made, as the family seeks to move forward from this highly publicized chapter of their lives.
The kiss cam incident that thrust the Cabots’ private affairs into the public eye occurred in July at a Coldplay concert at Gillette Stadium in Boston. During “The Jumbotron Song,” which leads into the band’s hit “Fix You,” cameras captured Kristin and her then-boss Andy Byron in what appeared to be an intimate moment. When the pair realized they were being displayed on the stadium’s giant screens, Byron quickly ducked out of frame while Kristin turned away from the 55,000 concertgoers in apparent mortification. Coldplay frontman Chris Martin initially thought he had captured a sweet couple’s moment, commenting “Look at these two,” but their reaction left him confused. “Oh, what?” Martin said from the stage. “Either they’re having an affair or they’re just very shy.” The singer then expressed concern, adding, “Holy s–t. I hope we didn’t do something bad.” The moment went viral, forcing the private separation between Andrew and Kristin into the public domain and creating significant personal and professional repercussions.
Less than a month after the concert incident, on August 13, 52-year-old Kristin filed formal divorce papers at a Portsmouth, New Hampshire court to legally dissolve her marriage to Andrew. According to reports, Andrew had been on a business trip to Japan during the kiss-cam debacle and was completely unaware of his wife’s public interaction with Byron until he returned home. The timing of the divorce filing was particularly noteworthy given that the couple had purchased a $2.2 million two-story, four-bedroom New Englander-style house just five months before the scandal erupted. Located minutes from the Atlantic coast, the property had seemingly represented a commitment to their future together, making the subsequent events all the more surprising to outside observers who were unaware of their private separation agreement.
For Andrew Cabot, a sixth-generation heir to the Privateer Rum fortune, this marks his third divorce. The businessman has two children from a previous marriage, highlighting the complex family dynamics at play in this situation. Kristin’s personal history includes a previous marriage to Kenneth Thornby, which ended in divorce in 2022, and reportedly includes a child from that relationship. These personal histories add layers of complexity to an already complicated situation, as blended families must now navigate the public aftermath of a private separation that became unexpectedly exposed through a moment of bad luck at a concert venue. The incident serves as a stark reminder of how quickly private matters can become public in our digital age, especially when celebrities or public events are involved.
The consequences of the kiss cam incident extended beyond the Cabot marriage. Andy Byron’s wife, Megan Kerrigan Byron, reportedly removed her married name from her Facebook page immediately following the incident, suggesting significant strain on that relationship as well. This reaction indicates the ripple effects that such public exposures can have across multiple families and relationships. While Andrew Cabot’s statement indicates that his separation from Kristin was already in progress before the concert, the public nature of the incident likely accelerated or complicated what might otherwise have been a more private dissolution of their marriage. It also potentially impacted professional relationships at Astronomer, where both Kristin and Byron held leadership positions, highlighting how personal and professional boundaries can become blurred in unexpected ways.
In releasing his statement, Andrew Cabot appears to be attempting to reclaim some control over the narrative surrounding his divorce, emphasizing the pre-existing separation agreement while seeking to restore privacy to what has become an unexpectedly public matter. The statement’s firm declaration that no further comments will be made underscores the family’s desire to process these changes away from public scrutiny. This situation demonstrates the challenges of maintaining privacy in an age where personal moments can be broadcast to thousands in real-time and then shared with millions online in the aftermath. As both the Cabot and Byron families move forward, they face the difficult task of rebuilding their lives and relationships while the echoes of a few seconds captured on a stadium jumbotron continue to reverberate through their personal and professional worlds. Their experience serves as a cautionary tale about the increasingly blurred lines between public and private life in our hyperconnected society.
