About six weeks after Kristin Cabot appeared in an instantly viral video—seen at a Coldplay concert in July in the arms of her then-boss, Andy Byron—Cabot began working with a publicist to navigate the backlash and, eventually, tell her side of what happened.
That representative, Dini von Mueffling, is now discussing the situation in a rare interview about her work with Cabot.
“It became clear that it was not going to go away and that the portrait that had been portrayed of her was going to stay that way unless she did something about it,” von Mueffling told PRWeek, a trade publication.
Von Mueffling added that she believes staying quiet can backfire. “Going silent frequently makes the problem worse,” she said, explaining that “opening the lines of communication” with journalists matters because “the media has a job to do.”
How the interviews came together
Von Mueffling helped facilitate two significant interviews Cabot gave earlier this month—one with The New York Times and another with The Times in the U.K.—in which Cabot broke her silence about Byron. Both worked at the tech company Astronomer (he was CEO; she was chief people officer).
After the pair were shown on the concert’s “kiss cam,” Coldplay frontman Chris Martin called attention to their reaction and joked that they might be having an “affair.” In the aftermath, both Cabot and Byron resigned.
Cabot said in her recent interviews that she was already separated from her husband at the time of the concert. She also said Byron suggested he was separating from his wife, Megan—though Byron has not commented publicly and has since been seen out with his wife.
“Extremely traumatic” attention
In the PRWeek interview, von Mueffling described the intense scrutiny and ridicule Cabot faced—along with the impact on Cabot’s teenage son and daughter from her first marriage—as “extremely traumatic.”
Von Mueffling and Cabot were introduced through a mutual acquaintance and first spoke via FaceTime, according to PRWeek. Von Mueffling said it was important to build trust and carefully choose the right journalist and outlet. “These things take time,” she said.
Cabot, for her part, credited von Mueffling’s approach and steadiness during a chaotic period.
“I immediately felt her calm yet undeniably badass presence. With patience and absolutely no judgment, she offered brilliant, strategic guidance alongside unwavering emotional support,” Cabot told PRWeek. “Given the position I found myself in, it was exactly what I needed.”
Why Cabot decided to speak
Cabot acknowledged that speaking publicly would likely bring another wave of attention—and that it did.
“I knew it was time to speak out, but I also understood the risk: reopening the door to online trolls, toxic comment sections and renewed scrutiny. That backlash did come, exactly as expected,” she told PRWeek.
Still, she said she chose not to engage with it. “I … knew those voices are not representative of the majority, nor are the opinions from people that matter to me,” she said, adding that she “didn’t and won’t read a single word of it.”
Outside the internet, Cabot said the reaction has been dramatically different. In “the real world,” she described the response as “nothing short of mind-blowing,” citing messages she has received as well as messages sent to von Mueffling and New York Times reporter Lisa Miller that were shared with her. “People have been overwhelmingly supportive,” Cabot said.
What comes next
While Cabot told The Times she has been warned she may be “unemployable,” von Mueffling suggested the tide has started to turn since Cabot stepped forward—calling the shift “very gratifying,” especially given Cabot’s previously “stellar reputation” at work.
“You have definitely not seen the last of Kristin Cabot,” von Mueffling said.
