I’m 5’8” tall with a 30” inseam and I don’t consider myself very short. Just a little. I ride a 54 cm road bike frame and I’ll fit in just about any eBike.
If your wife is truly short, she has long legs for her height.
My wife is 5’2” tall and has about the same length legs as I do, so maybe I just have short legs for my height.
I used the term inseam rather imprecisely. With a garment tape, she measures 29.5 inches from her bottom seating position to her heel.
I used that term to give a general understanding her legs were short.
But in the most accurate sense, inseam is not to the bottom of the foot, rather, it is to where the legs of the pants end. Most people have another 3 to 5 inches beyond their inseam. In her case, she has a true blue 29.5 inches from her bottom to her heel. With shoes on, that tosses in another half inch.
She is slightly on the balls of her feet when both feet are touching the ground. The seat measures 30.3 inches from the ground.
She can't even get on my bike (and keep just one foot on the ground) without leaning it about 45 degrees. Her toes do not touch the ground when the bike is vertical. Her height is 5 foot and (maybe) an inch.
Finding a bike which has a decent speed, acceptable AH rating, step-through, folding, and a workable seat height was tough.
She really wanted the folding feature, so she could store the bike in the laundry room. The speed and AH rating were my requirements.
I needed her to be able to go on similar rides which I enjoy.
The step-through was also selected in consideration of her height.
I was shocked to find it all for a bit under 1k.
Picture below: The his and hers bikes. Hers is in the foreground.