Coldplay frontman Chris Martin, 48, recently found himself playing an unexpected role: a cautious Cupid. During a concert at London’s Wembley Stadium on Friday, August 22, he took extra steps before helping a fan propose. The whole scene played out on the giant Jumbotron screens, all because of a rather messy incident from earlier this summer.
A camera zoomed in on a man in the crowd holding a sign. It clearly read, “I want to propose,” with an arrow pointing to his girlfriend. Martin saw it, but he wasn’t diving right in. “Now, listen, brother,” he said, according to social media videos. “I need you to nod, because I have to do some very basic security checks, okay?”
The singer had a few more questions. “Is this person your partner? Yes? Not anyone else’s partner?” After the man confirmed it, Martin playfully pushed further. “Are you cousins or siblings?” he asked. “Or even made with AI?” He chuckled, then added, “Are you real people?” The crowd laughed as the fan kept nodding.
“Alright, then I think we can move forward,” Martin announced. He then gave the fan a little nudge. “My dear brother, here’s some free advice. While everyone watches, I suggest you get down on one knee.” The fan did exactly that. He asked his girlfriend to marry him, she happily nodded, and he slipped a diamond ring onto her finger.
Martin beamed. “Well, congratulations, my brother and my sister!” he sang out. “What a beautiful girl! What a wonderful boy!” He then added, “And on a day like this, I encourage you to kiss. I hope you are happy until the day you die.” It was a sweet moment, but Martin’s cautious approach wasn’t just for show.
You see, Coldplay concerts often feature a Jumbotron camera. This lets the band connect with fans up close. But back in July, this same camera highlighted a couple who quickly tried to hide. Martin joked about it at the time. “Wow, look at these two! Okay, come on. They’re fine,” he quipped. “They’re either having an affair or just very shy. I’m not very sure what to do.”
Turns out, it was a bit more serious than just shyness. The two people were identified as Andy Byron, the CEO of Astronomer, and Kristin Cabot, the company’s Chief People Officer. Reports later confirmed that both Byron and Cabot were actually married to other people. Talk about awkward!
The news quickly made waves. Following the incident, Astronomer launched an investigation into the relationship between Byron and Cabot. This led to both of them resigning from their positions. Pete DeJoy, a co-founder of Astronomer, has now stepped in as the interim CEO.
Last month, DeJoy spoke about the company’s path forward. “In recent years, our business has experienced incredible growth,” he stated. “What was once a mission to help companies with Apache Airflow has become so much more. We have the privilege of being at the center of our clients’ data and AI strategy, powering the data flows behind your favorite sports team’s real-time analytics, LLM-powered chatbots for customer service, AI training for self-driving cars, and every critical business process in between.”
It seems the Jumbotron camera can bring both joy and, sometimes, a little bit of drama.