Years from now, when I’m old and my face has weathered into a hardened shell, one question will stay with me, “Where was I when Jon and Kate announced their divorce?” It’s troubling that such a thought would even cross my mind, but even more disheartening is the sad fact that I too was plopped in front of the TV waiting for the inevitable.

It’s odd of me to admit this because the demographic for the show, I’m assuming, is middle-aged housewives and 20-something women. But there I was, relaxed on the sofa, most likely the only man in America eager enough to take in every minute of the “very special” episode.

Now I’ve always considered myself a sophisticated TV watcher and usually limit my viewing to scripted programming and the occasional talk show. But when it comes to reality TV, I usually change the channel.

Not to say that reality lovers are beneath me. It’s just that I define a guilty pleasure as a longwinded college lecture or some type of strenuous activity such as chopping blocks of wood (one can never have too much firewood). I’ve even left the room when the conversation steers toward reality TV, only to reenter several minutes later (usually because I’ve forgotten something). To be quite frank, I’d rather ingest a handful of gravel than sit through an entire episode of “The Real Housewives of New Jersey,” “Kendra” or whatever else is stirring the dial.

Which brings me to “Jon & Kate Plus 8,” or J&K+8 for the text savvy among you. I’ve cursed myself for being caught up in the whole media brouhaha over Jon’s supposed infidelity, but it’s hard to escape it when every time I go to the supermarket Jon’s doughy face is staring back at me from the checkout line.

I’m not making excuses. In fact, I’ve even caught myself clicking on the Yahoo gossip links to catch up on any new developments over their crumbling marriage.

Am I a hypocrite to criticize those who indulge when I too am an obedient little lemming? Perhaps. But I like to think I deserve a free pass considering I sat through an entire “Jon & Kate Plus 8” marathon while visiting home a few Christmases ago.

It was my younger sister who just happened to “stumble” upon the show and insisted I watch. Three hours and nine episodes later I was ready to gouge out my eyes and embark on a life of solitude in the Himalayas as punishment for being untrue to myself. But alas, here I am alive and well.

If I did remember anything about the show during that nine-episode wind sprint a year and a half ago, it was Kate’s snotty attitude towards Jon. Sure I can go into some long convoluted discussion over why Jon may have cheated on his wife. But to be honest, I’m just not interested enough to care. I have faith in the powers that be that Jon will travel to some distant island never to be heard from again, while Kate finds a new beau to harass and pops out another set of twins. “Kate & Len Plus 10” anyone?

I’ve always prided myself in my charmingly good tastes, but now that the dust has settled and the scandal is all but kaput, I’m left feeling somewhat empty. And who can blame me for that?