Is Radha Real?

No question has vexed me more than this one. It tormented me as I took my first toddling steps on the path of bhakti. Sri Radha-Krishna is my ishta devata, the form of the Divine I personally favor and worship over all others. And yet, this doubt plagued me —

Is Radha real?

It is a question echoed by many others across the centuries, the one I hear the most when Krishna is discussed.