Siggy Flicker Reveals the Devastating Reason Teasing Upsets Her on ‘RHONJ’

Fans and Real Housewives of New Jersey cast members alike have been confused as to why Siggy Flicker has reacted so strongly to being teased as “Soggy Flicker” throughout this season.

This week, Flicker opened up about painful wounds of her past that turned the playful nickname into what she felt was pointed jab.

The “Soggy Flicker” nickname was originated from castmate Margaret Josephs early in the season, when she was poking fun at her fellow Housewife for her emotional response to everything.

What seemed like an innocent joke, however, really hurt Flicker, who freaked out on Josephs telling her she wanted to pull her signature pigtails out of her head “for making fun of [her].”

Josephs apologized, saying, “My intention was never ever to make you cry. My intention is to f–king be funny.… I’m very sorry that I hurt you. And that is a true apology. I don’t want to ever take a girl down”

But in an explosive tasting at Teresa Giudice, Joe Gorga and Melissa Gorga’s new restaurant, Flicker made sure Josephs knew she was “not over it.”

It all seemed like an overreaction until Wednesday’s episode, when Flicker opened up to her fellow Housewives and friend Danielle Staub about her painful childhood at a women’s empowerment retreat.

“There’s a lot of things that I’ve withheld that I just figured out why it is that I’m so angry and I hold on to a lot,” Flicker said. “When I was younger, I was bullied for my name. So you calling me Soggy Flicker, Margaret, brought me back to a time in my childhood that I was really, really bullied and I moved around every two years.”

“I hated it,” Flicker continued. “And with the name Sigalit Paldiel, I was tortured over my name. I was called Ziggy, Squiggy, Squiggy the Sea monster, Miss Piggy and Sigarette. I hated everything about my childhood.”

This revelation helped patch things up between Flicker and her cast enemy, whom she said she hadn’t gotten to know really.

“Margaret and I got off on the wrong foot. But when you get naked emotionally and say, ‘You know what, wow, this is not working,’ you’ve got to recognize it and not think it’s only the other person. It takes two to tango,” Flicker said.

Flicker’s story also seemed to affect Josephs. “It’s really brave of Siggy to share her story,” she said. “I would have never went there and called her ‘Soggy Flicker’ if I knew that she had such deep childhood wounds.”

Flicker did make it clear, however, that she didn’t regret standing up for herself in her interaction with Josephs.

“If someone is hurting you, or mocking you, or making fun of you, you look at that person tomorrow and you face them,” Flicker told attendees at the retreat. “You have a right to stand up and say, ‘F–k you.’ “

Real Housewives of New Jersey airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. on Bravo.