What started as a lighthearted moment at a Coldplay concert has turned into a life-altering ordeal for Kristin Cabot, the woman at the center of a viral kiss cam scandal that cost her career and upended her personal life.

Cabot, a married mother of two and the former head of human resources at tech company Astronomer, is now speaking out about the incident that unfolded during Coldplay’s Music of the Spheres tour stop at Gillette Stadium in Massachusetts this past July. In a new interview with the New York Times, Cabot admitted that a “couple of High Noons” fueled the decision that put her on the stadium’s big screen alongside her boss, Astronomer CEO Andy Byron.

“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.”

The moment became infamous when Cabot and Byron appeared on the kiss cam during Coldplay’s “Jumbotron Song,” when frontman Chris Martin serenades couples in the audience. Cabot immediately covered her face and turned away, while Byron ducked out of view. Martin quipped from the stage, “Either they’re having an affair or they’re just very shy.”

Within days, Astronomer addressed the situation publicly. “Astronomer is committed to the values and culture that have guided us since our founding,” the company said in a social media statement. “Our leaders are expected to set the standard in both conduct and accountability.” The company added, “The Board of Directors has initiated a formal investigation into this matter, and we will have additional details to share very shortly.”

Byron was placed on leave and later resigned. “Andy Byron has tendered his resignation, and the Board of Directors has accepted,” Astronomer wrote. “The Board will begin a search for our next Chief Executive as Cofounder and Chief Product Officer Pete DeJoy continues to serve as interim CEO.”

Despite the viral speculation, a source previously told People that there was “no affair.” “[Cabot] and [Byron] had an excellent working relationship, a great friendship,” the source said. “There was no affair.” The source added, “It was inappropriate to be hugging your boss at a concert, and she accepts full responsibility for it. But the scandal, the downfall, the loss of the job — all of that is unfair.”

Cabot revealed that she and her husband were already separated at the time of the concert and later filed for divorce on Aug. 13, agreeing to keep proceedings private. She also shared how her bond with Byron deepened after they discussed their struggles earlier in the year. “I’m going through the same thing,” she recalled him saying, an admission that “sort of strengthened our connection.”

On the night of the concert, Cabot said an inner warning tried to stop her. “Some inside part of my brain might have been jumping up and down and waving its arms, saying, ‘Don’t do this,’” she said. “I was like: ‘I got this. I can have a crush. I can handle it.’”

After tequila cocktails, the two shared their first kiss. “It was like someone flipped a switch,” Cabot said. “I’ll never be able to explain it in any articulate or intelligent way.”

The aftermath was brutal. “I was so embarrassed and so horrified,” she said. “I’m the head of H.R. and he’s the C.E.O. It’s, like, so cliché and so bad.” She recalled thinking, “We have to tell the board,” as panic set in. “Panic attacks were starting,” she said.

When the clip went viral, Cabot retreated to the mountains, but the harassment followed. “My kids were afraid that I was going to die and they were going to die,” she said, noting she was doxxed and received hundreds of calls a day, along with death threats. “Not 900. That showed up in People magazine. I got 50 or 60.”

Now, Cabot says she and her children are finding small steps toward healing, doing their best to move forward after a moment that changed everything.