The former boyfriend of Carly McBride has been charged with her murder, two-and-a-half-years after the death of the Lake Macquarie mother.

Police will also visit Lithgow Correctional Centre later this week to make an arrest of a second man in the case.

In a press conference on Monday afternoon, police revealed they had arrested a 39-year-old Buff Point man who had been in a short relationship with Ms McBride in the lead-up to her disappearance on September 30, 2014.

Fairfax Media has previously reported that Sayle Kenneth Newson had been in a short relationship with Ms McBride before her death.