Yeah, well, I'm female and in a steady relationship, and in terms of preference, I *hate* condoms. They really put me off the whole thing, and especially the constant anxiety of something going wrong, just kills sex for me. However, there are a lot of side effects from hormonal treatment, I have recently stopped taking the pill because the built up side effects of 7 years of taking it have been so terrible (serious PMS, mood swings, no libido, etc). So even when there are no side effects that cause actual 'illness', there are side effects. I would advise you both looking into different forms of contraceptive together, even considering the possibility of sterilisation, and seriously talk about the pros and cons of each before making a commitment.