What was meant to be a romantic evening under the stars turned into a headline-making scandal that shook both personal and professional spheres.

On the night of July 16, during Coldplay’s concert at Gillette Stadium in Massachusetts, tens of thousands of fans cheered as couples were randomly featured on the big screen to share light-hearted, affectionate moments. But the crowd grew noticeably quieter when one couple — a man embracing a woman from behind — suddenly pulled away, clearly startled to see themselves projected for all to see.

That man was Byron Deeter, CEO of the tech company Astronomer. The woman? Kristin Cabot, the company’s Head of Human Resources — and crucially, not his wife.

Shortly after the event, sharp-eyed social media users noticed that Byron’s wife had scrubbed all traces of her husband from her profiles and soon deactivated her accounts entirely. The public quickly drew conclusions — the concert moment, though brief, had exposed what may have been a secret long hidden.

In response to mounting public pressure and internal backlash, Byron issued a statement:

“This is not the man I want to be, nor is it the way I want to represent the company I helped build. I am taking time to reflect, accept responsibility, and determine my next steps — both personally and professionally. I ask for privacy during this time.”

The incident has since sparked larger conversations online about power dynamics in the workplace, the cost of public missteps for company leaders, and where the line between personal discretion and professional ethics should be drawn.