Mandy Moore and Shane West relationship explored as duo celebrate 20-year anniversary of 'A Walk to Remember'

Actress Mandy Moore celebrated the 20th anniversary of A Walk to Remember on Tuesday, January 25 with two Instagram posts. She had starred in the 2002 movie alongside Shane West, who also shared photos from the time of filming the movie on his social media account.

The iconic film, based on Nicholas Sparks' book of the same name, focuses on the tragic love story of two North Carolina teens — Jamie Sullivan (Moore) and Landon Carter (West) — who grew close to each other after Landon was forced to perform community service.

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How did the duo celebrate the 20th anniversary of A Walk to Remember?

Celebrating the milestone, Shane West posted two old photos with Mandy Moore and the film's director Adam Shankman, one of which was posted by Moore as well. On her Instagram page, the 37-year-old actress also posted a video consisting of clips showing her rewatching the movie. She teased her fans by saying:

"Can you understand why I had the biggest crush ever on Shane West?”

Mandy Moore and Shane West's chemistry in the movie was so amazing that it quickly led to fans speculating about the two dating in real life. However, in a recent interview with People, Moore, West and Shankman opened up about the 2002 movie as well as its leading stars' relationship.

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All about Mandy Moore and Shane West's relationship, in their own words

Despite having crushes on each other while they were filming the 2002 movie, Mandy Moore and Shane West "always kept it professional" as they "inherently cared about each other." In a 2017 Entertainment Weekly interview, when asked about what she remembered about meeting West, Moore stated:

"He was the character to me and there was definitely a part of me that absolutely fell in love with him. I don’t know if I could discern the difference between him and the character at that point in time because, again, it was my first experience doing anything like this and I was a 16-year-old, impressionable girl."

Whereas in 2018, West revealed to People that the two had a crush on each other, saying:

“I think we both had a little bit of a crush, but then we were just there for each other in the most honest and purest of ways."

During a 2019 appearance on Access, West, who was asked about Mandy falling in love with him, commented:

“I think we both did. We were definitely 'opposites attract,' and I think at first, I’m not sure if we loved each other or liked each other right off the bat, but it quickly changed. The writing helped, the direction helped, and also the fact that she’s one of the sweetest people ever.”

In a recent interview with People, director Shankman spoke about the A Walk to Remember stars, who had "a thing" for each other, saying:

"I just knew nothing was happening because she turned 17 on our first day of shooting and she was super grounded, well brought up. I just knew nothing was going to happen, so I did nothing to discourage it. And by the same token, I did nothing to push it. I didn't need to. It was just happening there. But they were, again, well-behaved kids that I saw no need to intervene."

While speaking to People about her experience working with Shane West, Mandy Moore recalled her chemistry with the actor by saying:

"Somehow, we sort of just had this really natural, effortless chemistry with one another. And I think that comes across in the film and that's hard to get. You can't really fake that."

Moore and West in A Walk to Remember (Image via Warner Bros.)

West, who guided Moore through the process of leading the film, told the outlet that he had an "almost yearbook" which he had signed by everyone working on any project with him up through his time on E.R. He also mentioned having "a lot of Mandy's hair" in the book.

Mandy Moore and Shane West also revealed that they were up for another collaboration with Adam Shankman, and that the trio had already discussed the possibility of a new project as well. West stated:

"I think it was maybe on the 15th anniversary or 16 or 17th or something, of Adam directing us doing it again. Maybe, obviously, because we're older, an older love story in that kind of sense. But if anyone were going to die, it's going to be me this time. You got to make it a tragedy. We got to make it even now, even Steven here. But I would love to."

Mandy Moore and Shane West, celebrities who had never dated each other before working on A Walk to Remember, were gifted a sweet bond of friendship which they still cherish.