Coldplay kiss-cam's Kristin Cabot is enjoying some fun in the sun ahead of her keynote speech at a crisis communications conference in Washington, D.C.

The former HR executive for Astronomer was photographed enjoying a day at the beach in Miami, Florida, on Friday, Feb. 13. 

In the photos, the 53-year-old mom of two can be seen showing off her toned abs in a baby blue bikini, which she paired with a large sunhat and a pair of sunglasses, as well as a few chains around her neck, gold jewelry around her wrists and another pair of sunglasses in her hands.

She can be seen cooling off and bracing for waves as she stands ankle-deep in the water.

COLDPLAY KISS CAM WOMAN SLAMS GWYNETH PALTROW FOR ASTRONOMER AD: 'WHAT A HYPOCRITE'

Cabot first gained national attention when a video of her and her boss at the time, former Astronomer CEO Andy Byron, enjoying a romantic moment at a Coldplay concert went viral in 2025.

The two were caught cozying up with each other on the Jumbotron, and once they realized the attention was on them, Cabot immediately turned away and dodged the camera, while Byron exited the frame. 

"Either they’re having an affair or they’re just very shy," Martin joked as the audience laughed.

Following the scandal, Cabot submitted her resignation as head of HR at Astronomer, while Byron was first placed on leave and then later resigned.

During an interview with The New York Times in December 2025, Cabot opened up about the now-infamous night and what it cost her.

"I made a bad decision and had a couple of High Noons and danced and acted inappropriately with my boss," Cabot said. "And it’s not nothing. And I took accountability and I gave up my career for that. That’s the price I chose to pay. I want my kids to know that you can make mistakes, and you can really screw up. But you don’t have to be threatened to be killed for them."

She went on to say that she had previously opened up to Byron about issues in her marriage and recalled him telling her he was "going through the same thing," adding that that admission "sort of strengthened our connection." She recalled kissing him for the first time at the concert after a few drinks and then wrapping his arms around her.

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Once they appeared on-screen, she said "it was like someone flipped a switch" and that she "was so embarrassed." What followed was intense scrutiny on social media, with Cabot saying she was doxxed and received over 500 calls a day in addition to death threats.

"My kids were afraid that I was going to die, and they were going to die," she said.

Cabot will be speaking about her experience and how she was able to "take control of her narrative and rewrite her story" following the Coldplay scandal, as the keynote speaker during the "Taking back the narrative" panel at the PRWeek Crisis Comms Conference in Washington, D.C., on April 16.

She will be joined on stage by journalist and communications professional Dini von Mueffling.

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"While attending a Coldplay concert in July and unwittingly appearing on the kiss-cam for a few seconds, Kristin Cabot’s life blew up in an instant," the event description read. "Online harassment, constant death threats, and 300 billion views to date: a never-ending media frenzy. From the outside, it was an amusing, if unflattering meme; but for her, everything changed that day."

It continued: "Cabot experienced firsthand the extremity of public shaming that women have long experienced when in the negative spotlight of the media, one their male counterparts often seem to avoid. During this session, the former Astronomer chief people officer and her PR representative, industry legend Dini von Mueffling, share the strategy — both immediate and long-term — that has helped Cabot take control of her narrative and rewrite her story."

"I can’t believe they just left!"

"Why didn’t they just stay until they fixed it?"

"Why didn’t they make them stay?"

I must have fielded forty questions last week from colleagues, friends and acquaintances. Even reporters and editorial staff from other news organizations. And that’s to say nothing of a few Congressional aides.

Everyone had the same question. They were in disbelief that lawmakers just abandoned the Capitol a week ago Thursday and left the Department of Homeland Security without funding on Saturday at 12:00:01 am et.

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The Senate tried twice to avert the partial government shutdown on Thursday. The Senate failed to break a filibuster on a placeholder, undetermined funding bill. And then Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., objected to a request by Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., to approve a stopgap, two-week funding bill. Passage of the bill would require agreement of all 100 senators. But all it took was one objection. And Murphy, speaking for many Democrats on both sides of the Capitol, interceded to sidetrack Britt’s effort.

"I’m over it!" shouted an exasperated Britt on the Senate floor, as Congress pitched at least part of the federal government into its third shutdown since October 1.

Democrats are refusing to fund the Department of Homeland Security until there’s a specific agreement to reform U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). And - few Democrats will say this out loud - but their base insists on Democrats shuttering DHS over ICE tactics after the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis.

This is somewhat ironic. Republicans funded ICE through 2029 via last year’s One, Big, Beautiful Bill. So thanks to Democrats, TSA, the Coast Guard and FEMA – all under the DHS aegis – are without money right now. That means tens of thousands of employees are technically working without paychecks as they scan passengers at airports, patrol the seas and respond to natural disasters.

This brings us back to the basic question: Why didn’t they just stay until they figured it out?

As a reporter, I have covered dozens of shutdowns, partial shutdowns, near shutdowns, flirtations with shutdowns. That’s to say nothing of various permutations of interim spending bills – long and short – known as Continuing Resolutions or CRs. Those bills keep the funding flowing at the old spending level – until lawmakers all agree on something new. Sometimes one CR begets another CR. And even another one after that until everything’s resolved. The exercise can go on for months.

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But as it pertains to DHS, lawmakers weren’t going to solve the issues surrounding ICE right away. So both the House and Senate got out of Dodge last Thursday as the deadline loomed. Lawmakers were everywhere from the Middle East to Munich when the bell tolled midnight Saturday and DHS lumbered into a slow-speed funding crash.

Failure to fund the Department of Homeland Security may seem unreasonable from a policy standpoint – regardless of what you think of ICE. But it’s not unreasonable if you understand the politics and Congressional procedure to fund ICE.

Let’s say they were on the precipice of an agreement to fund DHS. That may involve some last-minute trading of paper between Senate and House leaders. Maybe a call or two from the President to reluctant Republicans. If lawmakers believed a deal was within range, it’s doubtful that leaders would have cut Members loose. They would have stayed if there was a viable path to nail something down last Friday, have the Senate expedite the process and vote on either Saturday or Sunday (albeit after the deadline) and then have the House vote on Monday. That’s all under the premise of a deal being close.

They were nowhere near that stage when lawmakers called it last Thursday. Democrats didn’t send over their offer for days after a brief shutdown of 78 percent of the government more than two weeks ago. Democrats then criticized Republicans and the White House for slowly volleying a counteroffer. Democrats then rejected the GOP plan – only sending back another plan late Monday.

Getting a deal which can pass both the House and Senate – and overcome a Senate filibuster – takes time. And there simply wasn’t a deal to be had yet.

This is where things get really interesting. With no agreement in sight, you simply don’t anchor lawmakers in Washington with nothing to do. There’s nothing to vote on. There are no committee meetings scheduled. All tethering lawmakers to DC does is stir up trouble.

There’s a line in the song "Trouble" in The Music Man by Meredith Willson: "The idle brain is the devil’s playground." Who knows what kinds of mischief you would have, just making very cranky lawmakers hang around Washington for days – without anything to vote on. Keeping everyone here does not contribute to securing a deal. Yes, all 532 House and Senate Members (there are two House vacancies) must eventually be dialed-in to vote on a bill to fund DHS. But we aren’t there yet. A handful of Members in the House, Senate and people at the White House will be the ones to negotiate an agreement. Rank-and-file Members marooned in Washington with nothing to do but post outrageous things on social media and appear on cable TV is counterproductive.

Now, let’s look at the other scenario of being close to an agreement. House and Senate leaders may believe they are still a little short of votes. But if something is viable, leaders know they can nail down the votes with some arm-twisting, legislative and ego massaging and a few forceful phone calls. Yes, that process may require elbow grease. But in that instance, keeping everyone in Washington for a few extra days and blowing up a long-awaited Congressional recess actually helps the process.

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Why?

Think of the Stockholm Syndrome. You demand that everyone stay in Washington for an extra day or two and the "hostages" will start to come around to the viewpoints of their captors. Yes, everyone is frustrated and mad. But they feel the bill is something they can support and finally end this triumvirate of government shutdowns. In this case, the fustigation builds – but just a little. Everyone is happy to vote yes and rush off of Capitol Hill.

If they were close to nailing down an agreement on DHS funding, then Congressional leaders would have deployed a version of the Stockholm Syndrome to wrap up everything.

But with no deal, leaders were more afraid of the mayhem they may trigger by keeping everyone in Washington. The devil would romp freely through the playground of idle brains.

So how will you know when there’s a deal?

When everyone’s present and accounted for.