One of New York City‘s top lawyers was caught French kissing a much younger co-worker on a Central Park bench near the luxury $2.3m apartment he shares with his attorney wife.
Nathaniel D Cullerton, 45, was filmed smooching Kelsey Borenzweig, 29, in the shadows of Billionaires’ Row by a TikTok comedian named Jay Guapo, who shared the clip with his 3.5 million followers on Thursday.
Now, the Daily Mail has tracked down the lovers.
Cullerton, a partner at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, looked consumed with passion as he kissed Borenzweig, an associate at the same firm.
They both work in its litigation department and this spring helped OpenAI boss Sam Altman defeat a civil lawsuit brought by Elon Musk.
Clad in a pale blue suit and tan Oxford shoes, Cullerton gave a dazed-looking smile as he turned to face Guapo when the comedian strutted up to the couple and told them: ‘Get a room.’
Borenzweig, who wore a smart pair of beige pants and brown-patterned bolero jacket, looked just as enamored with Cullerton and rubbed his neck during the steamy clinch.
Guapo appears to have stumbled on the pair by chance, filming them to mock their public display of affection. It is unclear exactly when the video was filmed.
The kiss took place on the western edge of Central Park, about 30 blocks south of the co-op Cullerton is listed as living in with wife Moira Penza, 42, along an ultra-exclusive stretch of Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue.
Nathaniel D Cullerton, 45, was filmed smooching Kelsey Borenzweig, 29, by TikTok comedian Jay Guapo, who shared the clip with his 3.5 million followers on Thursday. The loved-up couple were quickly identified by commenters when Guapo uploaded the clip to his TikTok. It spread like wildfire across social media and set elite New York City law circles ablaze with gossip
Borenzweig grew up in a $2.7 million midcentury home in Malibu, moments from the Pacific Ocean
Dressed in a blue cap and sunglasses on Saturday morning, Borenzweig went for coffee with parents Tracy and Matt at the upscale Crosby Street Hotel in Soho
Cullerton looked sheepish as he arrived in Manhattan Friday from his second home in Connecticut
Cullerton’s wife Moira Penza is a former federal prosecutor who now works in private practice
Guapo could be seen scolding the pair and hissing: ‘Get a room. There’s kids watching.’
Borenzweig and Cullerton tried to shoo him away and cover his camera on realizing that their tryst was being filmed. He walked towards Guapo and forcefully demanded: ‘Put the phone down,’ but to no avail.
The loved-up couple were quickly identified by commenters when Guapo uploaded the clip to his TikTok. It spread like wildfire across social media and set elite New York City law circles ablaze with gossip.
Cullerton’s wife Penza is a partner at another top law firm, Wilkinson Stekloff.
They married in February 2016. Before moving into private practice, Penza worked as a federal prosecutor and led the case against NXIVM sex cult leader Keith Raniere.
She appeared on an episode of HBO series The Vow, which investigated the secretive cult.
On Friday, a stressed-looking Cullerton was seen arriving at the second home that he shares with Penza in Wilton, Connecticut, where he is from.
The primrose-colored clapboard property was built in 1818 and has immaculately manicured gardens surrounded by a stone wall and white picket fence.
Cullerton spent around two hours inside the house, with multiple cars seen coming and going while he was there.
Later on Friday, he drove back to Manhattan, returning to his Upper East Side apartment in a badly creased linen shirt shortly after 4pm.
Cullerton emerged from his dark gray Range Rover looking intensely at his iPhone, which he then kept pressed to his ear while remaining silent when asked by the Daily Mail for comment on the video and whether his wife had seen it.
A doorman then stepped out and ushered him into the building.
Cullerton drove his Range Rover from his 1818 home in Wilton, Connecticut, back to New York
The stressed-looking lawyer anxiously stared at his phone as he walked to his apartment
Cullerton, wearing a rumpled linen shirt, ignored questions from a Daily Mail reporter about the video of him kissing an underling and instead kept his phone pressed to his ear as he walked into his apartment
Moments later, a doorman stepped out to escort Cullerton back into his home
Sources told the Daily Mail that the Borenzweigs discussed an upcoming trip to South Africa. Her parents told workers at the hotel they were in town to visit Kelsey
Borenzweig seemed tired as she closely watched her phone alongside her parents
Borenzweig is in a relationship with Adam Littlestone-Luria. He told the Daily Mail he is aware of the video that has sparked the scandal but did not feel comfortable commenting on it further
Borenzweig is in a relationship with Adam Littlestone-Luria, a 35-year-old judicial law clerk with the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York.
Littlestone-Luria, who enjoys ballroom dancing in his free time, is the only figure connected to the scandal who has responded so far.
Asked about the video by telephone on Friday, he told a Daily Mail reporter: ‘I am not comfortable talking about this, but I am aware of it.’
Asked if he was still with Borenzweig, Littlestone-Luria repeated: ‘I am not comfortable talking about this,’ and ended the call.
Meanwhile, Borenzweig appears to have called in the cavalry – her parents Tracy and Matt were flown in from California to New York.
The brunette, dressed in a blue cap and sunglasses, cut a low-key figure as she left her luxury Flatiron apartment in a taxi to meet her parents for coffee at the upscale Crosby Street Hotel in Soho on Saturday morning.
Sources told the Daily Mail that they discussed an upcoming trip to South Africa, telling workers at the hotel they were in town to visit Kelsey.
But the conversation then appeared to sour, with Borenzweig sitting silent as her parents spoke, although it is unclear if they are aware of the situation.
The Daily Mail has repeatedly contacted Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz for comment on Cullerton and Borenzweig’s relationship, without receiving any response.
Top law firms strongly discourage romances between superiors and subordinates over potential conflicts of interest and favoritism.
Workers are generally warned that they must promptly disclose any romantic relationships with co-workers to human resources.
It is unclear when Cullerton and Borenzweig’s romance started or whether it has been disclosed to human resources, but the pair worked closely together to win the Altman case against Elon Musk. Musk claimed Altman had broken a founding agreement to keep OpenAI a nonprofit.
A photo taken during the trial in May 2026 showed Cullerton smiling as he walked into the federal court building in Oakland, California, with Borenzweig just a few steps behind him.
Cullerton and Borenzweig are seen walking into Oakland Federal Courthouse in May. They worked together to defeat a civil lawsuit filed by Elon Musk against Sam Altman
Borenzweig works alongside Cullerton in the litigation department of Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz
Penza appeared on an episode of HBO series The Vow, which investigated the NXIVM sex cult
Cullerton’s meteoric rise to success saw him obtain his JD from Georgetown University in 2013, before clerking on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
Borenzweig’s legal pedigree is just as impressive.
She received her JD from New York University School of Law in 2022 and also spent time clerking, before joining Wachtell.
She grew up in Malibu, California, in a sizable $2.7 million midcentury home moments from the Pacific Ocean.
The pair’s kiss has drawn comparisons online to an infamous clinch caught on a kiss cam at a Coldplay concert near Boston in July 2025.
Andy Byron, then CEO of data software firm Astronomer, was filmed cuddling the firm’s HR executive Kristin Cabot, with the moment becoming a global sensation.
Byron was married at the time, while Cabot was reportedly separated from her husband. Both left Astronomer in the ensuing scandal over their affair.
The Daily Mail has also contacted Borenzweig and Penza for comment.
