Nonreligious version of "heaven knows that…"
Are there any nonreligious versions of the phrase "heaven knows"? For example:
Heaven knows I'm not perfect when it comes to exercise.
I've heard other religious variants like "the Lord knows", but I can't find a nonreligious version.
Goodness knows is a derivation of God knows, so it is still 'religious' but not overtly so.
goodness knows
- No one knows. (A variant of "God knows.")
Goodness knows how long it will take for my application to be processed.- It is true, certain, or definite that; it is obvious or clear that.
If you want to go aggressively secular, there is Fuck knows
fuck knows
(idiomatic, vulgar, followed by a wh-clause) I don't know; nobody knows; it is unclear. Fuck knows what we'll do now the car's broken down.
but while 'fuck knows' can substitute in many situations, the requirement for a subsequent wh-clause means it wouldn't work in your example construction.
Goodness knows... (when I'll see you again).
http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/goodness+knows
OR,
Who knows/can tell...(when I'll see you again).
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/who_knows
E.g. "heaven knows I'm not perfect when it comes to exercise."
The real meaning of "heaven knows" in the given example is a statement of a fact that cannot be refuted (though it may not be immediately obvious). I may try to pretend I am good at it, but there is a higher being that knows the truth.
Therefore the secular equivalent would be something like:
"There's no denying I'm not perfect when it comes to exercise."